A NORWEGIAN COURT has convicted two men over a plan to attack a Danish newspaper following its publication of cartoon depictions of the Prophet Muhammed.

Twelve cartoons were published in the Jyllands-Posten in 2006, sparking riots in Muslim countries in which dozens of people died. The newspaper’s staff were threatened over the publication.

Mikael Davud and Shawan Sadek Saeed Bujak had denied plotting a terrorist attack on the newspaper. Investigators claim the plot was linked to al-Qaeda.

Today, the court found them guilty and sentenced them to seven years and three-and-a-half years respectively. They are the first to be convicted under Norway’s anti-terror laws.

A third defendant, David Jakobsen, was cleared of terror charges but was convicted of helping the other two men acquire explosives.

Visual representations of the Prophet Muhammed are seen as blasphemous by Muslims. In early November, the offices of French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo were firebombed amid the publication of a special Arab Spring edition which featured a cartoon depiction of Muhammad on the cover.

- Additional reporting by Susan Ryan